Following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. ICE officer, her family is taking legal action. On Thursday, the bereaved filed two civil lawsuits against the U.S. government. At the center of the legal actions are not only allegations of excessive police violence but also the suffering of her partner, Becca Good, who witnessed the act and is now raising their six-year-old son on her own.
Renee Good, an American citizen, was killed in January in Minneapolis when Jonathan R., an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), fired multiple rounds into her car as she was driving home after dropping her youngest son at school. Federal authorities at the time claimed Good had used her vehicle as a weapon; video footage later contradicted that portrayal.
Videos circulating on social media show the mother of three attempting to drive away as masked ICE officers closed in on her vehicle. As she tried to turn the car around to flee, R. opened fire on the 37-year-old woman. In another video, the slain woman’s wife is seen, crying, saying: “They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do.”
The officer has not publicly commented on the shooting. In the footage, his voice is heard only after the shots, and he berates the dying woman as a “fucking bitch.”
Damages and Severe Trauma for the Partner
The first lawsuit targets the U.S. government for “unlawful killing.” It argues that the officer violated agency policies and the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens from unreasonable government actions, searches, and seizures. In addition to damages for Good’s death struggle, the suit seeks compensation for her partner Becca Good, who endured a severe trauma from witnessing the killing.
At a press conference on Thursday in Minneapolis, Becca Good spoke publicly for the first time, describing life as a queer mother without her partner. In August, she had to prepare their six-year-old son for first grade and attend the first parent-night without Renee. “She never missed a moment. And this Halloween I will take our son around the neighborhood—without her hand in mine.”
Direct link | The family’s full press conference |
Historic Ku Klux Klan Act against Trump’s Inner Circle
The second suit leans on the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 — a historic law designed to protect civil rights. The legal team accuses senior government officials of an illegal conspiracy: Good’s death was the foreseeable outcome of a targeted campaign against migrant communities and those who documented and protested state pressure. The 155-year-old law was originally used to curb paramilitary terror and the violent assaults of the Ku Klux Klan and other racist militias.
Among the named defendants are not only the shooter but also top figures in the Trump administration, including Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, the Coordinator for Border Policy Tom Homan, and then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
No Criminal Investigations
The civil lawsuits follow months of governmental silence: there have been no criminal investigations or charges at either the federal or state level against the shooter or the ten other masked officers on the scene. Washington had even barred local police from investigating this case, and federal authorities seized all evidence.
According to reports, since Donald Trump’s administration began, at least nine people have died at the hands of immigration officers. ICE personnel have been deployed, critics say, mainly to cities that voted for opponents in elections, and they are accused of detaining predominantly nonwhite-looking individuals regardless of citizenship status.
The White House said it would vigorously defend the lawsuits. Trump and members of his administration placed the blame for Good’s death on her, with Trump insisting that she intentionally rammed the officer—despite video that suggested otherwise. The president stood by his version. Vice President JD Vance referred to it as “a tragedy she brought upon herself.” (dk)
